CULTURAL

The Life of a Honduran Schoolgirl

Jackie’s goal is to become an accountant

By MIAH GIBSON

Its noon on Friday and for Jaquie Jeoffey that means that school’s over for the week and she’s not hanging around. She’s been at school, Instituto Jesus Milla Selva, since 7 am and has had 6 classes since then, so she’s keen to get out. The hot Honduran sun is burning down too, students are panting out of the school gates, and she’s eager to escape into a cool, air-conditioned Internet café. She grabs a couple of tortillas and starts walking to the café.

Jaquie comes here most days to do homework. Her school doesn’t have Internet access, although it does have 15 rather ancient-looking computers. They must be shared between 5000 students though, so she can only use them about once a week. The Internet café costs 10 Lempiras an hour – roughly 74 cents – but that’s quite a lot for her father to fork out, especially since her parents, together, earn less than $3500 a year.

Fortunately Jaquie goes to a public school, so attendance is free, but they still find it difficult having to pay for uniforms and school books, as well as all of Jaquie´s out of school activities. She doesn’t have a part time job, and nor do most of her friends. Honduran parents usually support their children while they study, unless they simply can’t afford it, in which case their children have to leave school and find work.

Of those that do stay in school, many fail and have to repeat years. This is one factor that contributes to the large class sizes – 44 students to one teacher. There is a serious lack of teachers at the school – Jaquie has four teachers for her seven classes. Some of the classes, such as art and science, have been dropped because the school could no longer afford to pay the teaching staff.

Jaquie had to give up science but says she didn’t mind too much. At the moment she is studying two accounting subjects, math, economics, business management, finance, and statistics. Her goal is to become an accountant, and if she completes this year, she will be able to, as accountancy only requires a high school certificate. She has decided to go on and study accountancy at university though, so she can add to her qualifications.

There are only two public universities in Honduras, and one only offers education courses. The other, which Jackie is aiming to get into, has over 76,000 students. It’s the only option though – although Honduras has many private universities, fees are 3000% higher than at the public university, and thus well beyond her parent’s means.

Providing she passes this year, Jaquie is pretty confident she’ll get accepted into the accounting course she wants to do. “I just want to pass, then Ill be able to go to university. You don’t need really good marks”.

Nonetheless, she studies for three or four hours a day. She goes to bed at around 8pm and then wakes up at midnight and works until three or four in the morning. “It’s easier to study then. There are no distractions, and it’s easier to concentrate because it’s not really hot.” She thinks she’ll adopt a similar study pattern next year at university, depending on how active her social life is.

At the moment, Jaquie isn’t looking past university, and her goals are centered on becoming an accountant. She also says she’d like to “own a house, and a car, most of my friends want to do that.”

Cinema: Urban Luxury Becomes Rural Education

By SEETA KALGHATGI

The medium of film is often overlooked as a powerful form of information, especially in rural areas, where understandably basic aid is the usual and perhaps more acceptable form of charity. There is however one social project that is traveling around Honduras which aims to help local communities using a method that is far from traditional.

The project is in the form of film festivals where thought provoking Latin American films are being shown to the most unlikely of audiences. Those watching aren’t the art-house film buffs you might expect to be enjoying independent film, far from it; the viewers are rural people who are sometimes having their first ever moving picture experience. Ken Hutz, director of ‘Un Mundo’ (the California based non profit organization that is undertaking this project) says in his mission statement that the aim of this project is to ‘produce and distribute films of an educational and cultural nature, relevant to the marginalized millions who view them’

Admittedly cinema may not be a physical necessity for these rural people, but it can be seen as an important source of education for the creation of social structures, as well as enabling a more objective awareness of issues that are often very significant to the community. One of the ideas behind the project is to expel feelings of solitude and create a mood of unity within the various pueblos that are visited. The festival travels in a van which carries a large screen, various movies and a trusty generator, the presence of which enriches this project allowing areas without electricity to view feature length films, documentaries and cartoons for the first time.

The instigator of this particular project is Ronald Reinds who works for ‘Un Mundo’ HTW spoke to him on his return to Copan from his last November festival. He said ‘I don’t play blockbusters, only films with a message’ as Mexican director Guillermo del Toro declared in an interview in 2002 ‘if I want to make big, flashy movies, I’ll make them in Hollywood. If I want to do something more exotic and personal, then I’ll go home to Mexico’. Reinds’ statement at first sounds extremely principled, but should be approached with caution. One needs to differentiate between this project and dangerous propaganda that, in recent history, ‘films with a message’ have so often been the means for. After speaking to Reinds, it is evident that people aren’t forced to watch the films, or even encouraged to agree with the message conveyed. In fact Reinds is refreshingly modest about his project, he does not indulge in brash self-promotion and is the first to admit to any downfalls of his venture. ‘Sometimes people get bored and leave within half an hour’ he confessed. This statement, from a social standpoint at least, seems to work in his favor, illustrating that the film festivals seem to encompass ideals of freedom of speech rather than hazardous indoctrination.

Another of the project’s aims is to bring communities together by encouraging self-sufficiency through the organization of the event. Reinds is then, with the help of local Peace Corps, invited to bring his van and show his films.

The festivals themselves have been running for two years now. They are free to attend but any proceeds that are made, through donations and food sales among other things, go to a pre arranged charity of choice, although it is insisted that the causes should not be politically or religiously motivated. The festivals have been funded this year by the Dutch company HIVOS, a modest donation of just $3200 USD combined with various contributions of equipment have so far covered all costs, although ‘money is running out’ Reinds told us.

The film festivals should continue throughout the next few months, the next aims to be on 1 December 2004, World AIDS day, in the Copan area. If you would like to make a donation or for more information go to www.weareunmundo.org

Honduran Lady presented with Important Award

By ALEJANDRA PAREDES

Last week, an important award was given to Guadalupe Hung Pacheco, honouring decades of hard work in favour of the cooperation activities she has coordinated between Honduras and Japan. Hung Pacheco was honoured in the presence of her family, workmates and friends, by important Japanese members from JICA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency from the Honduras and the Tokyo office. The event took place in the events room at SETCO, the Technical Cooperation Ministry in Tegucigalpa. Brenie Matute Alas, Minister of Cooperation was also present at the event, where she expressed words of gratitude towards Guadalupe Hung Pacheco and to the Japanese visitors, recognizing their long and productive work in favour of Honduras.

Hung Pacheco was presented with a diploma signed by Sadako Ogata, JICA’s president, as well as a fine piece of Japanese artwork. A beautifully packaged piece, the red and gold lacquer ware orb takes years to fabricate, with painstaking and constant dedication. It was presented to Hung Pacheco as a symbol of the years of hard work required to successfully carry out the different cooperation activities Japan performs in Honduras.

During the ceremony, Hung Pacheco expressed her gratitude saying that “this significant and important award honours and privileges me, as it is being given by an institution that has the purpose and end to promote the social and economic development of less advanced countries through different programs of cooperation.” She also stated that “cooperation extends solid bonds of understanding and generates spaces to carry out joint efforts, acting upon the different challenges faced by all the nations in the world.

It is a mechanism of dialogue for peace as well as a medium to increase the prosperity of the nations. Cooperation is the most visible face of friendship between the states and the governments.”
Guadalupe Hung Pacheco shares this honor with another dignitary from Senegal, the only two people in the world presented with the distinction, delivered within the context of JICA/s first year as an independent institution.

The Maya Calendar A guide to the best in Honduran culture

Reviving Tradition

One of the Lencan women from the Magu cooperative polishes while her son looks on.

By MIAH GIBSON

On the outskirts of El Amatillo, a tiny town south-east of Tegucigalpa, Elena and Ubaldina Manzanares are quietly, but with careful precision, polishing a large vase. Their brightly coloured skirts and head scarves, now splattered with mud, identify them as being members of one of Honduras’ seven indigenous groups, the Lencas. Outside the workshop the sun is hot, and sweat shows through their blouses. This is good, they tell me. When the sun is hot, their clay pieces dry quickly, and they can begin colouring them with ash to create the black and white designs so unique to the Lencan people.

The Lencas form the largest indigenous group in Honduras and cover the largest geographical area. They live mainly in the Western and Southern Highlands, stretching east from La Esperanza and through the departments of Lempira, Intibuca and La Paz. Alhtough they are greater in number, the Lencas have lost more of their culture and traditions than other indigenous groups in Honduras. Only a few words of the Lenca language remain, and many of the old customs are no longer practised.

Cultural traditions that do remain are particular rituals, dances, traditional medicines, dress, and of course, artwork. The Lenca people are known for their beautiful weaved baskets, mats and hammocks, but it is their pottery which has attracted the most attention. Many shops in Tegucigalpa, Copan, San Pedro Sula and other cities now stock Lencan pottery, and a handful of companies export it overseas.

This is good news for artisans such as Elena and Ubaldina for whom survival depends on the money generated from their artwork. These women live in very basic conditions, both in small homes housing large families. Compared to most Lenca people though, they have it pretty good. They have enough food to live on, fresh water, and shelter. In general, like most indigenous communities in Central America, the Lencan people live in shocking poverty, suffer higher rates of malnutrition and illness, and have a lower life expectancy than the rest of the Honduran population.

At the moment, things are going well for Elena and Ubaldina. Their pieces have generated interest from several art and craft exporting companies which will ensure a steady, although small, income. This is in part because they had the insight to form a cooperative with seven other artists in 1986, which they called ‘Magu’. By forming an organised group, Magu could sell artwork direct to the public as well as being able to provide consistent stock to exporting companies.

Ubaldina and Elena had some help in getting Magu off the ground. Several organisations have been established over the last ten years to help indigenous artisans promote and distribute their artwork within Honduras and overseas. One such organisation is Aid to Artisans (ATA) who implemented a nationwide artisan development project from 1984-1986. ATA provided support in areas of product development, technical training, and export marketing. For example, they introduced slab rollers which roll clay into a uniform thickness, enabling artists to create pieces in minutes that had previously taken days. They also set up relationships with wholesalers and retailers, and gave advice on pricing and costs.

In 1995 a project called PROPAITH was established, which stands for The Rescue and Promotion of Indigenous and Traditional Production Crafts in Honduras. The project was created to strengthen and support traditional and indigenous groups in Honduras, and was divided into two stages. The objective of the rescue stage was to study the indigenous groups in Honduras and recover their written, oral and ecological resources, tools, and artwork.
The promotion stage, which began last year, focuses on how Indigenous products can be improved and distributed to a wider market. This has included the construction of nine workshops throughout Honduras where artisans can work and sell their products, as well as the publication of craft catalogues of Indigenous products.

According to Particia Cardona, the Manager of PROPAITH, its mission is to support and strengthen indigenous communities in Honduras, and equip them with the knowledge and resources to be able to produce and market their products independently. “We’re working on strategies to train these groups in how to make new products, how to request funding themselves, how to value products and how to work in groups rather than individually.”

Ms. Cardona also believes that PROPAITH must work on strategies to reconstruct a sense of identification between the artisans and their products. “Its very important for the groups to be proud of their work, to identify with it. In the past they haven’t wanted to identify with their culture as it was not appreciated in the wider community... We want to give them back their self-esteem.”

For women like Elena and Ubaldina, programs such as PROPAITH and ATA have not only given them a jumping off point to begin establishing their own businesses, but have also provided a means of reviving Lencan traditions within communities, and sharing them with the wider population. Each piece they create represents Lencan culture to the rest of the world. Says Ubaldina: “We have been doing this for all of our lives, and our ancestors always made their own pieces. We are happy that we can teach about our traditions to other parts of the world.”

 

Mathematics Program Going Strong

Takeshi Sekiya, Renato Alvarez, and Roberto Martínez Lozano during the live presentation at Escuela República de Honduras

By ALEJANDRA PAREDES

This month, the set of teacher and student mathematics workbooks corresponding to sixth grade were delivered to the authorities of the Ministry of Education by the work team of PROMETAM, (Proyecto Mejoramiento en la Enseñanza Técnica en el Area de la Matematica) one of the most ambitious educational projects ever carried out in Honduran history.

For the occasion, Minister of Education, Roberto Martìnez Lozano and the Ambassador of Japan in Honduras, Takashi Koezuka, visited JICA`s main offices in Tegucigalpa, as well as important personalities of the Universidad Pedagógica Francisco Morazán, INICE and the Honduran ministry of education.

During the presentation, Takeshi Takano, director of JICA in Honduran said that “education is and always will be one of the main pillars of the Japanese cooperation and we have worked together with Honduran authorities for many years joining efforts to contribute on the quality improvement on its different levels”. The Japanese ambassador Takashi Koezuka also spoke at the meeting, doing so for the first time ever in Honduras since he occupied his post a few weeks ago.

This event took place on the same day that Renato Alvarez, host of the high rating morning show “Frente a Frente” held a live show at the Escuela República de Honduras, one of the public Honduran schools to be benefited with the new teaching system on the school term beginning 2005. The live presentation also had de presence of Minister Martinez Lozano with the participation of Takeshi Sekiya and Ramon Rosa, who have both been participating with the development of the teacher and student guides.

This was the second time a live television show was held local media and general public have been informed on the new direction Honduran mathematics are about to take with the implementation of the work being carried out between members of the Honduran government and Jica, the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The support this program is receiving from the media is extraordinary, as television and radio crews have been devoting full hours of their time for the support of this historic effort.

The PROMETAM project is the result of years of hard work carried out by Honduran and Japanese education experts, who have participated in activities that range from teacher training by Japanese volunteers (JOCV´s), to the design and production of the teachers guides and new books, headed by expert Takeshi Sekyia, at the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Capacitación Educativa, INICE.

Rio Platano Video Highlights Ruins, Problems, and Nature

Quetzalcoatl

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Several years ago, Ted Maschal was preparing to work in the Rio Platano area when he ran across references to important Indian cities in the area. When he came to Honduras, he saw artifacts such as a corn grinding stone with the head of a feathered serpent. He thought that these artifacts showed that the Legend of the White City (Ciudad Blanca) had some truth behind it.

His initial trip to where the White City is supposed to be also showed that the area was beset by numerous problems—illegal logging, the illegal trade in endangered species, and t he clearing of forest for cattle grazing and crops by Spanish speaking Ladinos.

The situation inspired Marshal, better known as Ted Danger, to try to put together a documentary that would highlight the area. Maybe if the ruins were better known, people would come to develop the ruins like those of Copan and Machu Pichu and there would be better protection for the resources in the area.

With enthusiasm and perseverance Danger worked for six years to make this movie a reality, getting together a camera man from discovery channel, guides, experts in the area, satellite imagery coordinates, and even Honduran military helicopters.

The results are strikingly beautiful. Danger’s team face high adventure as they go through dense rainforest in search of ruins hidden by the forest canopy. While looking for the ruins, they film the flora and fauna that have made the Rio Platano a UNESCO World Heritage site. They also face the dangers that lead ethno botanist Paul House to describe the area as lawless.

For me one of the best parts of the film is when the Garifuna guide Roberto gives his take on the protection or lack thereof on the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve. For archaeologists this film shows rarely seen artifacts from the area, both on the ground and in people’s illegal art collections in their homes. Currently the main collection of White City artifacts is in the Heye Foundation’s collection, now in storage crates as the museum has moved to Washington, DC.

This video In Search of the Ciudad Blanca is for sale for a short time on the website www.hondurassociety.com. There is an error on the site. The first box that says Spanish VHS is actually how to order the English VHS tape. The movie is also available in DVD. The Society for the Preservation of Honduras, founded by Ted Danger, has made a deal with a London based distributor to sell the movie, which they would like to see be used in schools and as TV show. A previous show about the White City was made by A&E TV about Lost Cities. Spanish DVD and VHS tapes are also available.

Ted Danger, now a resident of Utila, is working on another video about Honduras’ Swan Islands.

Roger’s Acrylic Truths

Roger Silva Pérez

By EMMA HAWA

On November 3, the National Galleria de Arte hosted an exclusive event for the opening night of Mr. Roger Silva Perez’s newest exhibition “De Plastico y de Verdad”.

The surrealist painter displayed his small collection of works in the gallery in the hope of gaining recognition for his talent. The appreciation for all kinds of artists in Honduras is lacking and many workers in such fields as the theatre and artwork go unrecognized. Important figures from all cultural fields flocked to the opening night of the new exhibition and were well catered for by the National Gallery, with offerings of wine, cheese and small photographic momentums.

The exhibition, titled “The Plastic and the Truth”, intends to express Perez’s attitude towards the artificiality of today’s society and how through his work he seeks to show us that truth. His work wasn’t, nor did it aim to be, aesthetically pleasing, commercial, or nice, but rather communicative and provocative used to expose the artist’s truths. All pieces within the exhibition are for sale ranging from 3,000 Lempiras for “La Mano” to as much as 20,000 Lempiras for such works as “Dos en Uno” and “Sosteniendo el Tiempo”.

The work in this series had clearly been strongly inspired by his sexuality, with numerous provocative figures, mostly female, consuming his paintings. The piece “la Busqueda del yo metrosexual” which basically translates to “In search of the metrosexual”, is arguably the most powerful of his works from the series. A mans face dominates the painting and is surrounded by (hinted at) female figures. The mans lips are echoed and so intensified in the loose shapes of one of the women’s legs. The suggestive forms that emerge from the painting with every glance make the piece an extremely intense and provocative display.

Numerous figures within his works had their faces framed within circular mirrors. Through this technique, Perez portrays reflections of the viewer, and consequently society, as opposed to portraying the faces of his subjects. Nowhere is this clearer than in his piece titled “Personajes Encubiertos” the subjects of which are three women all of whom have their faces framed by mirrors, thereby allowing Perez to express one aspect of the artificiality of society. The faces are presented with upturned noses and exaggerated drooping eyelids exposing ideas of snobbery. These women are backed by elaborate sky, clouds and stars, all equally fake in their beauty.

The walls of the exhibition were draped with tatty sheets of plastic forcing the spectators to not only see themselves within the paintings, but also to see the gallery and the exhibition itself as a reflection of our artificial society.

Perhaps the most shocking of his works was “Prostituta adolescente amamantando” meaning “teenage prostitute breastfeeding”. This piece was painted with the acrylic medium and the subject is unexpectedly given a bright, romantic and celebrated feel. When asked about this piece, Perez told Honduras This Week, “this addresses a serious social problem within Honduras…who is extending their hand to them?…no-one”. Perez goes on to explain that just because his subject is a teenage prostitute, it doesn’t reduce the fact that she can be a sanctified mother, which is why he chooses to glorify her within the painting.

Another disturbing piece is “Hada Madrina de los Marginales” which allows Perez to expose his truths on the position of children in society. A sea of children surround this glorious fairy god mother who has a skull at the tip of her wand. The fairy is granting the children death which Perez said “is the only hope these children have…to die mercilessly”.

One of his more pleasing works was “Novela” meaning “a fictitious story”, painted with acrylics, in which two lovers are shown with another woman being rejected. These figures are less displeasing than the rest and are rather elegant in style. Their golden skins are blushed with pink, white and blue pastels which are echoed in the calming skies.

Perez demonstrates his appreciation for the human form in such works as “Moda de Angel” meaning “fashion of the Angel” in which he paints an angel in an extremely strong stance with the most amazing back and bottom. Elaborate fabrics emerge from the angels flawless body to create her wings. However, the angels eyes are shut and she is muted through the omittance of a mouth permitting her only to have aesthetic significance. White is used only to identify the elegant arc of her nose, capturing her solely as an entity.Despite being classified as a surrealist painter, aside a couple of the aforementioned works, Perez’s art remained based on fairly shallow themes lacking in the complexity expected within surrealist works. For example, his shockingly most expensive piece, selling for 20,000 Lempiras, simply rested on the theme of two people, interpretable as lovers, uniting as one, which remains a fairly elementary concept and which was fittingly just as elementary in technical skill.

However, as all of the spectators clearly expressed on Wednesday night, “the Plastic and the truth” demonstrates the great skill and potential of the artist. Perez attended the Escuela National de Belles Artes, where he studied architectural studies, fine art and literature before starting his career in the advertising industry. Through this work he gained invaluable experience in the field of communications. His broadly sourced background evidently allows him a strongly varied access into different artistic manifestations in his current career as an artist.

‘Mel’ Zelaya’s Dream: Empower the Individual

Mel’s project “Open Counties” gives power back to communities

By MIAH GIBSON

Jose Manuel Zelaya, better know as 'Mel' Zelaya, was, by last count, the most popular of the Liberal Party candidates for president. Surprisingly, he keeps a relatively low profile, and rarely makes himself available for interviews. I felt somewhat priveledged therefore, to be seated face to face with him, discussing his philosophy of "empowering the individual" over coffee and a sandwich.

Zelaya introduced his Open Counties Program in the Government of Carlos Flores. It is based on the idea of returning power to local communities and decentralising decision making. He wants to make individual communities responsible for establishing their own policies in every area of society, from education to health to welfare, and extracting the Government presence.

Zelaya's program establishes two different methods for grouping counties. The first is 'Cabilodos Abiertos', meaning 'The Open House of the Mayor', where people are segregated according to the municipality they belong to. The second is called 'Nuestras Raices' - 'Our Roots', and creates groups based on indigenous or traditional communities. There are 297 counties in Honduras that come under one of these two headings.

Zelaya claims that his Government would give each of these counties far greater independence. Under his scheme the Government "becomes a partner with the community". Each county conducts research, formulates policy, and establishes channels for feedback on the success of those policies. Financing the counties would still remain in the hands of the government, who would provide funding based on the needs of the community.

The costs of such a scheme would be high. Distributing grants on a needs-basis, monitoring new policies and ensuring each county is operating effectively are expensive exercises. Yet Zelaya believes that this program would actually save the government money. He argues that in counties where the program has been tested, costs were reduced by ninety percent. In some counties productivity was four times higher. "This is because people were participating. More people were working for their community, so costs were reduced."

Handing over such a large amount of control and responsibility has several potential dangers. How would his Government ensure that the power given to community leaders is not abused? Zelaya´s answer is vague: "people care more about the things that directly effect their community, things that are a product of their effort, so there is less chance of corruption . Also, the money is managed by the whole community, so the handling of funds is transparent."

This outcome seems unlikely. But perhaps Zelaya's project encorporates measures to ensure that those directly responsible for their own community do act in the interests of that community, and that those who decide how funding should be distributed in that community do offer explanations of where the money went.

Much of Honduras´s population is illiterate and uneducated, particularly within indigenous communities. How can such communities be capable of building policy and managing a budget? "Emotional intelligence is more important than intellectual intelligence," replies Zelaya, "scientific and technical knoweldge should not be more highly regarded than knowledge of one's community."

His are noble goals, but also seem slightly idealistic. Zelaya talks about wanting to "return to the community"; an appealing idea for a country with ongoing corruption within its Government, but skims over the problems associated with the decentralisation of government, namely, ensuring that these counties are capable of acting indepedently.

"We must return to the citizens," he says, " and protect the consumer against the people who discriminate against and would take advantage of them. My dream is to return dignity and liberality to the people." It is an encouraging vision, and if successful, could be the change that Honduras needs. Establishing new levels of authority and stripping the Government of some of its power would go a long way to eradicating corruption, and help to restore faith in the political system.

The results of the last public poll suggested that Zelaya was heading the Liberal candidate race. The internal election will be held on February 20 next year and if he manages hold on to his current popularity until then, he just may get his dream.